Landscape Lightroom tutorial

While I was in Idaho this summer with my family I fell in love with the majestic landscape all over again. You see, growing up in Idaho I didn't appreciate all the beauty the state provided. I was always proud to be from Idaho but at the same time thought it would be would be much "cooler" to live in a big city with all the lights, buildings and attractions. Going to Yellowstone Park (only about 90 miles away) for me was only "so-so", I craved more excitement.

But as I've been away from home for 15 years and have lived in several major cities all over the country, including Boston, Orlando, and Las Vegas and now Austin, I've come to see how rare and beautiful Idaho truly is. I was fortunate to grow up in such a paradise.

So today I'm using 2 landscape pictures I took while I was in Idaho. I'll take you through my entire Lightroom editing process from start to finish.

Step 1: Increase Blacks (+24)

Step 2: Increase Brightness (+50)

Step 3: Increase Clarity (+82)

Step 4: Change the crop, utilizing the "rule of thirds". (notice the horizon line is now in the bottom third of the picture)

Step 5: Increase black a little more (+30 more to make it +54 total)

To finish I added a frame. (see how to add the frame in my "Photography Tip" at the end of this post)

Here is one more landscape Lightroom tutorial for a sunset...

Step 1: Increase Blacks (+36)

Step 2: Crop it to a square

Step 3: Increase Clarity (+100)

Step 4: Increase Vibrance (+53)

Finish it with a frame.

***Photography (LR editing) Tip***

To create a rounded edge frame using Lightroom simply change the "Post-Crop Vignetting" to these settings:

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3 comments:

I'm your newest follower. I had to when you had amazing pictures of Idaho (I've lived her my whole life) and a daughter named Maddie (me too!) :) You can't beat Idaho for landscape photography. I'm so excited to learn a lot from your tips here.

About Me

Katie Evans has been a professional photographer for the past 6 years. She has written 3 sought after photography books as well as owns and operates Key to Pictures Academy (keytopictures.thinkific.com). Katie has been teaching photography online and in person to students worldwide. She adores her students and is committed to helping them succeed.